Le Creuset Stainless Steel Cookware

Le Creuset is loved for their enamelware, and now they're entering the stainless steel cookware market.

Part of their new line of stainless cookware, the pots have several intelligent design features like measurements etched into the inside of the pots for easy measuring and rims that are designed for easy pouring. For the pots with side handles, a lid can rest securely between the handle and the rim (no more steamy lids on your counter top).

We recently took the 7.5 quart pasta pot for a spin and it was like driving a Cadillac; heavy, strong, and oh so shiny.

The insert boils pasta and steams vegetables and shellfish easily; we boiled up some crab knuckles. The stockpot can also be used alone to make soup, and although at $200 it's a big investment, if you make stocks or soups often, you should have a heavy-weight stockpot in your arsenal. You want even heat distribution on the bottom, and a tight fitting heavy lid on the top in order to achieve the best flavor. This pot has it all.

If anything, it might have too much: the handles on the stockpot are large and given small cabinets, you might have trouble wedging this one in. However, it is so pretty, you might just keep it on your stove top.

Price-wise, the Le Creuset line is less expensive than other premium brand cookware, like All-Clad, whose 7 quart stockpot with pasta insert will set you back about $350.

Sara Kate is the founding editor of The Kitchn. She co-founded the site in 2005 and has since written three cookbooks. She is most recently the co-author of The Kitchn Cookbook, to be published in October 2014 by Clarkson Potter.